Tag Archives: Christmas eve gift

If I didn’t get around to writing this post on December 24th the least I can do is write it on January 24th! Not only has life been busy as usual, but most of my time spent writing these days is focused on my second blog, Pinch of Parsley! So if you’ve enjoyed reading the posts here, please come visit my new site and follow along there to keep up with the latest adventures in the kitchen of our brand new home <– there’s an entire series of posts on that new home I just casually mentioned too 🙂 Do you need a sneak peak/ preview for convincing?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Now…let’s do a little time traveling back to Christmas! It came and went as fast as ever, but we had the best first Christmas in our new home we moved into in September! Our Christmas Eve was nice and quiet; we had our traditional family evening at home filled with dinner, Christmas Eve gifts, treats and holiday movies! I made candied pecans for the first time this year which is pretty dangerous, because now I know just how simple those tasty treats are to make! Hailey is 15 now (come again?), but I was so thrilled to still see that childlike excitement from her on Christmas Eve including her countdown to 7:00 when she’s allowed to open her gift; it’s so magical.

I typically have the same four components in her Christmas Eve gift every year: new PJs and slippers, something personalized, an activity for the evening and some yummy treats. Here’s the thing though – that gets more difficult the older she gets and at this point I’m just not sure she needs something else with her name on it and when it comes to the activity it feels like we have all the games, movies and coloring books out there! So I gave myself a break this year and just bought a few things I thought she’d really like. PJs and slippers are easy and this year I actually got them at American Eagle, technically Arie! The super cute pants have polar bears on them and Hailey loved the fuzzy open toed slippers! Getting them on cyber Monday deals after black Friday also made them really affordable! Rather than something personalized this year, I got her a pretty asymmetrical necklace from Stella & Dot.

These necklaces are delicately beautiful. I have a similar one that has a cross instead of an arrow and is gold instead of sterling silver. To my delight, Hailey really liked this too and appreciated something different in her box! The snacks are always pretty simple and the creme soda may just become a tradition every year, but I decided to try something new for her snack this time. The girl LOVES popcorn and I’ve seen pipcorn advertised plenty of times, including on Shark Tank, and decided it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try! We got a bag of sea salt as well as a bag of cheddar which was Hailey’s favorite. Overall review? Pretty yummy! I think the company is founded/owned by siblings which is pretty cool too. Don’t quote me on any of these loose facts, but do give pipcorn a try if you love the salty snack like us! It’s also fun to say. Pipcorn 🙂

Top 5 favorite things about Christmas day this year:

Hailey getting up at a remarkable 8:00 AM!

Christmas morning hot cocoa

Listening to classic music on the record player Hailey got from Santa 😉

Enjoying the coziest fireplace at my Grandma’s house

The best quality time with family

I hope y’all had a wonderful Christmas too!! If you have any fun traditions with your family or friends I’d love to hear about them! I’ll leave you with Max’s Christmas photo from 2018. See you over at Pinch of Parsley 😉

Like this:

A few days ago Hailey asked if we were doing the Christmas Eve gift this year thinking she normally saw it under the tree by then. My initial reaction was so heartfelt; I love that she looks forward to this gift and that it’s become a family tradition for us. And then I was honest with her and told her my forgetfulness put me a bit behind schedule this year. Do you remember the super cute box from last year? Anyone know where I stored it after Christmas? Me either. I searched and searched for that box and was finally left with the option of buying a new one. Luckily, I went shopping at Michaels at the right time and found an adorable chest to use this year 70% off. Bonus? No wrapping needed. And when I store this one away in a safe place the day after Christmas I’ll probably find last year’s box too 🙂 Continue reading →

This Saturday evening will be year four of Hailey’s annual Christmas Eve gift! She may not believe in Santa anymore, but the anticipation she does still have for the holiday keeps that special magic kids bring to Christmas alive. Her gifts also still say ‘from Santa’ anyway! My Mom did this for my brother and me; it still makes it fun and puts a smile on your face when opening gifts. Hailey started her Christmas countdown with around 65 days to go so as you can imagine she is getting giddy with excitement as we head into the last few days of the countdown! Each year she is allowed to open her Christmas Eve gift after 7:00 PM that evening. It will always include Continue reading →

Like this:

Is it Christmas Eve yet? Just kidding. I know it’s approaching all too quickly, but at the same time I’m already excited! It’s one of my favorite nights of the year with Hailey. Even if nothing special is planned, the excitement a child has on Christmas Eve is contagious and truly adds some magic to the evening. This will be our third Christmas as an ‘official’ family and the fourth year for Hailey’s Christmas Eve gift, the first tradition we started together! A Christmas Eve gift is a wonderful way to Continue reading →